official translation

official translation official translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 22 December 1992 No. I-28 Vilnius (As amended by 15 April 2004 No. IX-2134) I. General Provisions Article

1. The Basis for Elections of the President of the Republic The President of the Republic shall be elected by the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania for a five-year term on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage and by secret ballot. Article
2. The Right to Candidacy for the Office of President of the Republic Any person who is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania by birth, who has lived in Lithuania for at least the past three years, provided he has reached the age of 40 prior to the election day, and provided he is eligible for election to Seimas member may be elected President of the Republic. The same individual may be eligible to the office of the President of the Republic for not more than two terms. Article
3. Information about Relations with Foreign Special Services (Structures) After the Central Electoral Committee has adopted a decision to issue an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic with forms for the collection of voter signatures, he must, before he is registered as a candidate for President of the Republic, furnish the Central Electoral Committee with information about his work with the NKVD, NKGB, MGB, KGB of the USSR or other Soviet republics as well as with other corresponding services (structures) of other foreign states, studying at schools of said services (structures) or about collaboration with said services (structures). An individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic shall enter this information into a questionnaire. The following data must be indicated in the questionnaire: name and subordination of the service (structure), individual’s office, title, class, rank and functions, time and place of work or studies, awards. The Central Electoral Committee shall determine the form of a questionnaire. Data contained in the questionnaire shall be accessible to the public. If an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic indicates the information specified in this paragraph of the Article in a questionnaire, the Central Electoral Committee must publicise such questionnaire within 24 hours following submitting thereof. If an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic has not submitted to the Central Electoral Committee a filled-in questionnaire prior to registration as a candidate for President of the Republic, the Committee shall make this fact public not later than within 24 hours after the individual has been registered as a candidate for President of the Republic. A candidate for President of the Republic must announce about his work, studying or collaboration with the services (structures) specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, in his every video or audio election campaign material. If the Central Electoral Committee receives information in writing that the data provided in a questionnaire are wrongful, concealed or that a filled-in questionnaire has not been submitted, as well as that an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic or a candidate for President of the Republic worked, studied in the services (structures) specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, collaborated with them, and establishes that the data related to this fact are not included in a questionnaire, it must within 48 hours notify an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic or a candidate for President of the Republic about the received information and offer him to provide explanations. If an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic or a candidate for President of the Republic agrees to the information received by the Central Electoral Committee, he shall without delay write down additionally this information in his questionnaire, and in the event a questionnaire has not been filled in, must fill it in - write down the indicated information. The Central Electoral Committee must not later than within 24 hours publicly announce this information. If an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic or a candidate for President of the Republic does not agree to the information received by the Central Electoral Committee, does not arrive at the Central Electoral Committee when invited or refuses to provide explanations regarding the received information, the Central Electoral Committee may, if necessary, approach the persons who provided said information, as well as other institutions or organisations, requesting to provide additional data or documents. Upon having considered the received information, the Central Electoral Committee must adopt one of the following decisions: 1) to declare the received information groundless; 2) to apply to the Higher Administrative Tribunal of Lithuania with a request to establish a fact that an individual who nominates himself or is nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic or a candidate for President of the Republic has included in a questionnaire the wrongful data about his work, studying or collaboration with the services (structures) specified in paragraph 1 of this Article or has concealed these data. In all cases the Central Electoral Committee must, not later than within 5 working days after the receipt of information, adopt a decision and to publicise it within 24 hours following its adoption. The court shall within 72 hours consider a request of the Central Electoral Committee and shall make a ruling which becomes effective from the moment it has been announced. The Central Electoral Committee shall within 24 hours publicly announce the ruling. If the Central Electoral Committee receives the information specified in paragraph 1 of this Article later than 12 days left before the election, a candidate for President of the Republic is not notified about this information, and the Central Electoral Committee shall not consider it. The Central Electoral Committee may publicly announce the fact established by the court not later than 72 hours left before the beginning of voting. The term “collaboration” used in paragraph 1 of this Article is defined in Article 5 Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Review of Mandates of Deputies who are Suspected of Collaboration with Special Services of other States (Þin., 1992, No.1-1). Article
4. Universal Suffrage Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who on the day of the election are 18 years of age or over shall have the right to vote for the President of the Republic. Citizens who have been declared incapable by court shall not participate in elections. Any direct or indirect abridgement of a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania's right to vote on the grounds of their sex race nationality language descent, social status, religion, convictions, or views shall be prohibited. Article
5. Equal Suffrage Every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has the right to vote for the President of the Republic shall have one vote in the election. Article
6. Direct Election of the President of the Republic Voters shall elect the President of the Republic without mediators. Article
7. Secret Ballot Voters shall vote in person and by secret ballot. Controlling the will of the voters in the election shall be prohibited. Article
8. Making Public the Preparation and Execution of Elections State institutions and electoral committees shall prepare and conduct the elections of the President of the Republic publicly. Public notice must be given of all events (meetings, sessions) related to the organisation of elections at least 12 hours prior to the commencement of the event. The electoral committees shall inform the citizens about their work; the formation of polling districts; the composition of electoral committees, their location and business hours; the lists of voters; the results of candidate registration to the post of the President of the Republic; and the voting and election results. The state mass media shall inform the public about the preparation and execution of the elections of the President of the Republic. Representatives of all mass media shall have the right to unrestricted participation in all events organised by the electoral committees, attendance of all electoral committee sittings, as well as the acquisition of information from the electoral committees concerning the preparation and execution of the elections. Article
9. Expenditures Related to the Preparation and Execution of Elections The expenses related to the preparation and execution of elections of the President of the Republic shall be covered by the State and local authorities. The expenditures of electoral committees related to organisation and execution of elections and the work of the members of electoral committees and the service staff shall be paid with public funds. Maintenance of premises of the offices of electoral committees of towns, regions and districts, expenditures related to acquisition and keeping of the equipment of polling stations shall be paid with local authority funds. If a local authority does not provide adequate premises or equipment for a polling district office and polling stations, public funds shall be used for this at the decision of the Central Electoral Committee. In this event the actual expenses relating to polling stations and equipment shall, within 2 months after the election, be exacted by the Central Electoral Committee from the local authority without suit. II. Organisation of Elections Article
10. Formation of Polling Districts Taking into consideration the convenience for a voter to reach a polling station and the number of voters, territories of towns and regions shall be divided into polling districts. The division of the territory of a town, region into polling districts shall be approved and changed by the Central Electoral Committee on the recommendation of the mayor. The Central Electoral Committee shall publish in the Valstybës þinios a list of approved polling districts, and changes made therein. No more than 5,000 voters may reside in the territory of a polling district. The boundaries of a polling district, the address of a polling station shall be changed when necessary, but no later than 100 days prior to the election. In the recommendation to approve the division of the territory of a local authority into polling districts, the town, region mayor shall specify the following: a proposed name of a polling district, addresses falling within a polling district, number of voters in the formed district, address and telephone number of a polling station. Changes which are proposed to be made shall be specified in the recommendation to change the division of the territory of a local authority into polling districts. No later than 100 prior to the election the mayor shall also inform the Central Electoral Committee about new addresses, changed addresses or addresses which are no longer existent, as well as approve the addresses and telephone numbers of polling station. When an early election of the President of the Republic according to Article 87 of the Constitution or an election of the President of the Republic according to paragraph 1 of Article 89 of the Constitution is held within two months from the announcement thereof, the Central Electoral Committee may change the boundaries of polling districts and the addresses of polling stations not later than 50 days before the election. If the said election is held earlier than within two months from the announcement thereof, the boundaries of polling districts shall not be changed. Article
11. Electoral Committees The elections of the President of the Republic shall be organised and conducted by: 1) the Central Electoral Committee; 2) the town, region electoral committees; and 3) the electoral committees of polling districts. Members of electoral committees may not be candidates to the office of President of the Republic or agents of such candidates. A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may be proposed to the electoral committee provided he has the right to be elected as Seimas member (without taking into consideration the minimum age limit set for a candidate for Seimas member, but who is not younger than 18 years of age on the election day) and has not been previously removed from an electoral committee due to the violations of laws on elections or referendum. Article
12. Repealed 19 September 1996 Article
13. Repealed 20 June 2002 Article
14. Formation of Town, Region Electoral Committees The Central Electoral Committee shall for the period of elections form town, region electoral committees no later than 74 days prior to the elections. Town, region electoral committees shall be composed of: 1) a person who resides or works in that town, region, has higher legal education, and is nominated by the Minister of Justice; 2) persons who reside or work in that town, region, have higher legal education, and who are nominated by the Lithuanian Bar Association; 3) a career public servant nominated by the mayor and employed in the administration of each municipality the whole or a part whereof has been designated to this constituency; and 4) persons nominated by parties, political organisations which have received the mandates of Seimas member in the multi-member constituency. The Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Bar Association and the town, region mayor may propose more candidates. Parties, political organisations which have received the mandates of Seimas member in the multi-member constituency pursuant to the list of candidates (joint list) nominated in this constituency shall each have the right to propose two representatives from this single list of candidates (joint list) nominated in the constituency to town, region electoral committees. If the representatives meet the requirements of this Law, the Central Electoral Committee may not reject said candidates. In the event that candidates have not been proposed, the Central Electoral Committee may additionally appoint as members of the Committee candidatures who are proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Bar Association or town, region mayor. In all cases, at least three committee members must be the persons appointed to town, region electoral committees from the candidates proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Bar Association and the mayor. If there the number of the said persons is less, the Committee shall be enlarged from the candidates proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Bar Association or the town, region mayor. If elections to the Seimas or elections of the President of the Republic, or elections to a municipal council, or a referendum are concurrently held on the same day, the same electoral committees of polling districts or referendum committees shall be formed. The Central Electoral Committee shall form a single - town, region, constituency or referendum - committee in a separate electoral, referendum territory and shall establish its functions in organising and carrying other elections or a referendum. The Central Electoral Committee shall appoint the chairman of a town, region electoral committee. During its first sitting, the town, region electoral committee shall elect a deputy chairman and a secretary of the committee. When an early election of the President of the Republic according to Article 87 of the Constitution or an election of the President of the Republic according to paragraph 1 of Article 89 of the Constitution is held within two months from the announcement thereof, the Central Electoral Committee shall, not later than 50 days before the election, set up town, region electoral committees. If the said election is held earlier than within two months from the announcement thereof, such 50-day time limit shall be reduced by the number of days lacking to constitute a two-month time limit. Article
15. The Powers of Town, Region Electoral Committees The town region electoral committee shall: 1) in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee, inform the voters who reside in a town, region about polling district boundaries, offices, working hours and polling stations; 2) supervise the implementation of this Law in the town, region; 3) form electoral committees of polling districts; 4) distribute the funds allocated for elections to electoral committees of polling districts, control utilisation of said funds and account to the Central Electoral Committee for the funds utilised for the elections; 5) register election observers and issue certificates to them; 6) make up a list of medical treatment facilities, social welfare institutions, military units and places of confinement situated in the territory of a town, region, and together with the head of the post office have care of the organisation of voting by post in those places; 7) draw up the vote calculation records of a town, region, establish election results and transfer them to the Central Electoral Committee for approval; 8) consider complaints against decisions and actions of the electoral committees of polling districts and adopt decisions concerning them; and 9) exercise other powers provided for in this Law. Article
16. Formation of Electoral Committees of Polling Districts No later than 65 days prior to the election, a town, region electoral committee shall establish the number of the members of the electoral committees of each polling district, which must be a multiple of the number of the parties and political organisations which have the right to nominate candidates for electoral committees. If the number of proposed candidates is insufficient or there is a vacancy in the committee, the mayor of the municipality in the territory whereof a polling district is formed may propose the lacking candidates. The following shall be entitled to propose the same number of candidates for an electoral committee of a polling district: 1) each party, political organisation or their coalition which received the mandates of Seimas member in a multi-member constituency during the last elections to the Seimas. If the party, political organisation received the mandates of Seimas member when being in the coalition, it may propose candidates together with organisations which participated in the coalition; 2) the party, political organisation or their coalition which received the mandates of councillor from the list of nominated candidates (joint list) in the elections to a municipal council. If the party or political organisation received the mandates of councillor when being in the coalition, it may propose candidates together with the organisations which participated in said coalition. If the party, political organisation may propose candidates according to the results both of the election to the Seimas and of the election to a municipal council, it shall propose candidates according to only one of these election results, by preference. If one of the organisations which took part in the election coalition, does not propose candidates or refuses to propose them, or chooses to propose according to other than the coalition was formed election results, other organisations which took part in said coalition shall have a right to propose candidates without its presence. Parties, political organisations shall submit their lists of candidates for a town, region electoral committee no later than 48 days prior to the elections. Town, region electoral committees shall for the period of elections form electoral committees of polling districts no later than 45 days prior to the elections. If a candidate meets the requirements set forth in this Law, the town, region electoral committee may not reject the candidate. If no candidates have been proposed or the proposed candidates do not meet the requirements of this Law, or they have been proposed after the set period of time, a town, region electoral committee may alter the earlier established number of the members of the electoral committee of a polling district or to address the mayor to present the lacking number of candidates for electoral committees of polling districts. The candidates proposed by the mayor may not be the members of parties, political organisations or to become such members prior to the expiration of the powers of a member of an electoral committee. If during a sitting not less than three members of the town, region electoral committee, while appointing a member of the electoral committee of a polling district, object to the appointment of the candidate, proposed by the mayor, to be a member of the electoral committee of a polling district, this candidate may not be appointed a member of the committee. Town, region electoral committees shall appoint the chairmen of electoral committees of polling districts. During its first sitting the electoral committee of a polling district shall elect a deputy chairman and a secretary of the committee. When an early election of the President of the Republic according to Article 87 of the Constitution or an election of the President of the Republic according to paragraph 1 of Article 89 of the Constitution is held within two months from the announcement thereof, town, region electoral committees shall, not later than 45 days before the election, establish a number of members of each polling district electoral committee. The parties, political organisations shall, not later than 42 days before the election, submit to town, region electoral committees the lists of candidates to polling district electoral committees. Polling district electoral committees shall be set up not later than 40 days left to the election. An electoral committee member who does not give a written pledge longer than 7 days after the appointment or who gives a written pledge with the reservation, shall lose his powers in the electoral committee. If an early election of the President of the Republic according to Article 87 of the Constitution or an election of the President of the Republic according to paragraph 1 of Article 89 of the Constitution is held earlier than within two months from the announcement thereof, the time limits of 40, 42 and 45 days, specified in this paragraph, shall be reduced by the number of days lacking to constitute a two-month time limit. Article
17. The Powers of Electoral Committees of Polling Districts The electoral committee of the polling district: 1) shall receive polling district voter lists from the town, region electoral committee, provide conditions for electors, representatives for elections to familiarise themselves with said lists, hand voter certificates to voters or distribute them in some other way, inform the town, region electoral committee about inaccuracies noticed in the polling district voter list; 2) shall investigate complaints concerning the errors made in polling district voter lists; 3) shall, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee, observe how voting by post is conducted in the territory of a polling district, and control that conditions for voting by post would be provided in all medical treatment facilities, social welfare institutions, military units and the places of confinement situated in the territory of the polling district; 4) shall, together with a representative of the municipal council, have care of preparing polling stations, voting booths and ballot boxes in due time pursuant to the requirements provided in this Law; 5) shall organise voting in the polling district on the polling-day; 6) shall calculate votes and draw up the vote calculation records of the polling district; 7) shall consider the complaints of the voters and observers of that polling district on issues concerning the preparation of the elections, the organisation of voting, vote calculation, the drawing up of vote calculation records, and adopt decisions related to them; and 8) shall exercise other powers provided for in this Law. Article
18. Written Pledge of Members of Electoral Committees and Organisation of Electoral Committee Work A member, chairman of an electoral committee shall start holding the position in the electoral committee upon having given a written pledge. The Central Electoral committee shall establish the procedure for giving a written pledge of the members, chairmen of town, region and district electoral committees. The texts of a written pledge of the member and the chairman of an electoral committee shall read as follows: 1) “ I, (name, surname), swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, observe its Constitution and laws, conscientiously and honestly perform my duties in the electoral committee and refrain from actions violating laws and the rights of citizens. So help me God.” 2) “ I, (name, surname), swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, observe its Constitution and laws, conscientiously and honestly perform my duties in the electoral committee and refrain from actions violating laws and the rights of citizens.” Upon having given a written pledge, a person shall subscribe to the text of the pledge. The pledge shall be effective for the whole duration of the appointment to work in the electoral committee. The text of a written pledge may not be altered. It shall be prohibited to hold the position in the electoral committee without giving a written pledge. Written pledges shall remain in the custody of the electoral committee which has appointed electoral committee members, chairmen. When appointing an electoral committee member, the Central Electoral Committee or the town, region electoral committee shall fix the date by which he must give a written pledge. The person who has not given a written pledge within 15 days after his appointment or who has given a written pledge with a reservation, shall be removed from his position in the electoral committee. Sittings of electoral committees shall be valid provided that at least three-fifths of the members of the committee are in attendance. Decisions made by the committee shall be adopted by open, majority vote. In the event of a tie vote, the committee chairperson's vote shall be casting. Committee members who do not agree with a decision shall have the right to state a different opinion in writing, which shall then be appended to the minutes of the meeting and shall be an integral part thereof. Upon the completion of elections, the powers of the members, chairmen of town, region and district electoral committees shall be terminated. The decision to terminate the powers shall be adopted by the electoral committee which appointed the committee members, when this committee, its chairman have fulfilled all the tasks assigned to him according to the Law. The chairman or member of an electoral committee who has given a written pledge shall be prohibited from any form of election campaigning or attempts to influence the voter’s will in any other way. The individual who has violated this requirement or a written pledge of an electoral committee member, must be dismissed from the committee and may be prosecuted under laws.*[1] Article
19. Appeals Concerning Decisions of Electoral Committees which are Adopted prior to the Completion of Voting All political parties and political organisations which have nominated a presidential candidate, as well as agents of candidates to the office of the President of the Republic may appeal against the decisions of electoral committees according to the following procedure: 1) for decisions of electoral committees of polling districts - to the town, region electoral committee; 2) for decisions of town, region electoral committees - to the Central Electoral Committee; and 3) for decisions of the Central Electoral Committee - to the Vilnius regional court. Appeals must be considered within 48 hours of the time the appeal is submitted. Non-working days shall also be included in this period. The decision of the Vilnius regional court shall become effective from its pronouncement. Article
20. Appeals Concerning Decisions of Electoral Committees which are Adopted after the Completion of Voting All political parties and political organisations which have nominated presidential candidates, as well as the agents of candidates to the office of the President of the Republic, may appeal to the town, region electoral committees against the decisions of electoral committees of polling districts concerning the drawing up of records of the calculation of votes not later than within 24 hours of their adoption. Such appeals must be considered not later than within 24 hours. Town, region electoral committees, in considering appeals concerning the drawing up of records of the calculation of votes, may recount the ballot-papers presented by the electoral committee of a polling district, provided at least three-fifths of the town, region electoral committee members are present. Upon establishing an arithmetic mistake or incorrectly calculated valid or invalid ballot-papers, the committee may amend the records of the calculation of votes. Town, region electoral committees shall not have the right to declare invalid the records of the calculation of votes drawn up by electoral committees of polling districts. The decisions of the Central Electoral Committee, with the exception of the decisions to declare the results of the elections of the President of the Republic invalid, may be appealed against to the Vilnius regional court not later than within 2 days of their adoption, and must be considered not later than within 48 hours. This term shall also include non-working days. The decision of the Vilnius regional court shall become effective from the moment of its pronouncement and its execution shall be binding upon the Central Electoral Committee. While considering appeals against the decisions of town, region electoral committees concerning the drawing up of records of the calculation of votes in a respective town or region, the Central Electoral Committee may re-count the ballot-papers presented by the town, region electoral committee. Upon establishing an arithmetic mistake or incorrectly calculated ballot-papers, the Committee may amend the entries in the records of the calculation of votes of the respective town, region or polling district. The Central Electoral Committee shall not have the right to declare invalid town, region records of the calculation of votes. Article
21. Assistance for Electoral Committees State institutions, firms, offices and organisations and their officials must assist electoral committees in exercising their powers, and must furnish them with necessary information. State institutions, firms, offices and organisations and their officials must consider requests submitted by electoral committees and give the electoral committees a justified response not later than within 3 days. Electoral committees may employ the required number of personnel for assistance work. Local governments and State institutions and organisations must provide electoral committees with premises and equipment for the preparation and execution of elections. Article
22. Remuneration for Electoral Committee Members Chairpersons, deputy chairpersons and members of electoral committees shall be paid salaries for their work in electoral committees in accordance with the rates submitted by the Central Electoral Committee and approved by the Government. Article
23. Changing the Members of Electoral Committees Chairpersons and members of town, region, district electoral committees may be dismissed from their posts in the committee by the electoral committee which approved the composition of this committee, or by the Central Electoral Committee. The electoral committee may consider only the justified proposal of a party or political organisation to recall the member of the electoral committee whom it has nominated. As necessary, a new chairman or member of the electoral committee may be appointed in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and on the expiry of the period provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 13 and paragraph 5 of Article
24. iii. Voter Lists Article
25. Voter Lists
26. For the organisation and execution of elections, the following voter lists shall be compiled: 1) voter list of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) voter lists of towns, regions; and 3) voter lists of polling districts. Voter lists shall be drawn up twice - provisional and final. These lists may be used only for organisation and execution of elections. The procedure of compiling voter lists must be such that every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is entitled to vote shall be registered in voter lists. No one may be registered in a voter list more than once. At the request of parties which have nominated candidates and for the purpose of election campaigning general voter lists of a concrete constituency may be drawn up and presented. The parties which are registered in the State Register of Personal Data Controllers may obtain general voter lists (in electronic storage media or printed). The following shall be laid down in general voter lists: voter's name, surname, address and date of birth. Actual expenses related to drawing-up of such lists shall be covered by the party which has ordered them. If a voter has, in manner prescribed by legal acts, expressed his disagreement that his place of residence or date of birth would be made public in general voter lists, only his name and surname shall be indicated in these lists. Parties may not submit general voter lists to the third persons and use them for the purposes other than election campaigning. They must destroy the obtained data within 30 days following the proclamation of the final election results. The voter list of the Republic of Lithuania and the voter lists of towns, regions which are drawn up and kept by the keeper of the population register, shall be made in electronic storage media. Voter lists of polling districts shall be printed. The procedure and form of compiling of lists, method of compiling and the procedure for their use shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. When drawing up voter lists, the following informational shall be used: 1) in the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania: name, surname, person's number, date of birth, number of the document confirming citizenship, address of a place of residence and grounds for entering the address in the population register; 2) in the voter list of towns, regions: name, surname, person's number, date of birth, address of a place of residence and grounds for entering the address in the population register; 3) in the voter list of polling districts: name, surname and the address of a place of residence. The address of the voters who have expressed disagreement that their address would be announced in the voter list of a polling district, shall be indicated only in the annex of the voter list of the polling district and in the voter certificate. Every voter shall enjoy the right to disagree that the address of his place of residence would be publicly announced in the voter list of a polling district, and that both the address of his place of residence and his date of birth or either of them would be indicated in the general voter lists which are furnished to the parties. The Central Electoral Committee shall together with the keeper of the population register create conditions for a voter to carry out his right to disagree that the address of his place of residence would be announced in the polling list of a polling district and that the address of his place of residence and his date of birth would be announced in the general voter lists. Article
27. General Procedure for Registering Citizens in the Voter List of the Republic of Lithuania All citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have the right to vote shall be registered in the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania according to the data of issuance of the document (passport) confirming the citizenship, and according to the population register of the Republic of Lithuania. Lists compiled according to these data shall be provisional. Compiling, checking and keeping of voter lists shall be organised by the Central Electoral Committee on the basis of the information furnished by public authorities and electoral committees. The following persons shall be struck from the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania: 1) a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has died; 2) a person who has lost the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania; and 3) a citizen who has been declared legally incompetent by the court. Provisional voter lists with changes done therein and acknowledged in the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee shall be, not more than 7 days prior to the election, approved as final voter lists. Changes in final voter lists may be done only with a consent of the Central Electoral Committee. Article
28. Town, Region Voter Lists The town, region voter list shall be made in electronic storage media by the Central Electoral Committee according to the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania and the place of residence of a voter indicated therein (the last known or declared voter's place of residence), and shall be delivered to the town, region electoral committee at least 39 days prior to the election. Lists of voters residing abroad shall be drawn up concurrently and shall be delivered to diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania. A list of citizens whose place of residence is unknown shall be also drawn up. Article
29. Voter Lists of Polling Districts The voter list of a polling district shall be drawn up by the town, region electoral committee according to the town, region voter list and the place of residence indicated therein, and shall be delivered to the electoral committee of a polling district at least 26 days prior to the election. A list of citizens whose place of residence is unknown shall be also compiled. Voters, ship’s crew members and passengers who will be unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post or to be present on the election day, shall, according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee, be registered in a voter list of the polling district on the territory whereof the ship’s registration harbour administration is located. Article
30. Public Announcement of Voter Lists and Access to Voter Lists The electoral committee of a polling district, a diplomatic mission shall, at least 25 days prior to the election, shall provide conditions for the voters to have access to voter lists of the polling district. Voters shall be provided with data of an annex of the polling district voter list which concern only them. It shall be prohibited to make copies of voter lists of a polling district, or distribute them in other ways. The business hours of electoral committee members as well as the telephone numbers for voters to make inquiries about whether they are registered in the voting list must be on display at the entrance to the electoral committee office. Following expiration of the time limit for delivering voter certificates as provided by this Law, the business hours of the polling district electoral committee, its telephones must be on display in stairwell entrances of multi-family apartment houses. The time and place for the voters to exercise their right to have access to voter lists shall be on display in a diplomatic mission, at the entrance to the premises of an electoral committee. The voter list of the Republic of Lithuania and town, region voter lists shall not be made public, however, a voter may be provided by telephone with data regarding his recording in the voter list. Article
31. Voter Certificate A voter certificate shall be a document issued by an electoral committee specifying in the voter list of which polling district a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania is registered. One cannot vote by post without this certificate. A voter certificate shall contain: 1) the name and surname of the voter; 2) the birth date of the voter (year, month, day); 3) the address of the voter; 4) the town, region in which the voter shall cast his vote; 5) the name, number of the polling district in whose list of voters the name of the voter has been included, as well as the address of the polling station; and 6) the consecutive number of a voter in the voter list of a polling district. Article
32. Delivery of Voter Certificates The delivery of voter certificates to voters shall be organised by the electoral committee of a polling district. The diplomatic mission shall deliver or send by post a voter certificate to the voter who are abroad, provided that he has informed the diplomatic mission of his address. A voter certificate shall not be delivered to the voter who shall vote in a ship. The delivery of voter certificates shall be noted in the provisional voter list of a polling district. A voter certificate shall be either delivered to the voter personally or to the other person who lives together with the voter, or to a neighbour of the voter, who knows the voter and undertakes to deliver the voter certificate to the voter. The delivery of voter certificates to voters must be finished at least 20 days before the election. The voter who has not received a voter certificate in due time or who has received a voter certificate with inaccuracies, must without delay inform the electoral committee of a polling district in whose service territory he is residing, about this and to produce his passport or other document confirming his identity to the electoral committee. If the voter is registered in the voter list of this polling district, the electoral committee of the polling district must write out a new voter certificate to the voter and issue it to him immediately. If the voter is not registered in the voter list of this polling district, the electoral committee of the polling district shall immediately inform the town, region electoral committee about this, which must have care of registering the voter in the voter list of this polling district. The voter certificate shall be written out and delivered to the voter following upon checking the accuracy of voter lists. The town, region electoral committee may, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee, write out a voter certificate for the voter who is on the voter list of another town, region, provided he is unable to return to his permanent place of residence to receive or otherwise get a voter certificate. The voter must request this in writing and produce the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania with his place of residence indicated therein. Article
33. Checking the Accuracy of Voter Lists before Drawing up Final Lists The accuracy of provisional voter lists shall be checked when transferring a voter from one town, region, district voter list into another, striking from or registering a voter in the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania. The voter shall be transferred from one voter list into another if it becomes clear that the address of his place of residence in the provisional list is incorrect or it has changed after said list was drawn up. Transferring of the voter from the voter list of one polling district into another in the same town, region shall be executed by the town, region electoral committee and it shall inform the Central Electoral Committee about the changes made in voter lists of polling districts. Transferring of the voter from one town, region voter list into another shall be executed by the Central Electoral Committee on the recommendation of the electoral committee of the polling district and shall inform the town, region electoral committees about the changes done. Only the Central Electoral Committee may register a voter in or strike him from the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania in the cases provided in Article 231 of this Law. Article
34. Registration of Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, Staying Abroad, in Voter Lists Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania staying in other states shall be registered in the voter list of the city of Vilnius. A diplomatic mission of the Republic of Lithuania shall, at least 15 days before the elections, submit to the Central Electoral Committee the voter list compiled in the diplomatic mission, as well as the data concerning checking the accuracy of said list. This list may be supplemented with the voters who will be unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post or to be present on the polling day, and who shall vote in diplomatic missions. Article
35. Registration of National Defence Servicemen, Voters who are Aboard a Ship and in Places of Confinement in Voter Lists Voters performing the active or alternative service shall be included in the voter lists of the polling district on whose territory they permanently resided before they have been summoned for the active or alternative service. Officers, non-commissioned officers and re-enlistees of the national defence system and the internal affairs service shall be included in the voter lists of the polling district on whose territory they permanently reside. The voters who are aboard a ship and who will be unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post or to be present on the polling day, shall be registered in the additional voter list of the polling district in whose voter list the ship’s crew is registered. Voters who are in places of confinement shall be registered in the voter list of the polling district on whose territory they have permanently resided before they were placed in confinement. If a person who is in a place of confinement requests in writing, he shall be registered in the voter list of the polling district on whose territory the place of confinement is situated. Article
36. Checking the Accuracy of Voter Lists upon Compiling Final Voter Lists, as well as on the Election Day If following the approval of the final voter lists, but no later than until six o’clock p.m. on the election day, a voter addresses the electoral committee of a polling district and submits the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania with the address of the place of residence recorded therein, which is attached to the territory of this polling district, but the voter is not registered in the voter list of this polling district, the electoral committee of the polling district shall register the voter in the additional voter list of the polling district and shall allow him to vote according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee. The Central Electoral Committee shall immediately inform the town, region electoral committee about the voter’s surname, name, personal code, his passport number and the address recorded in the passport. The town, region electoral committee shall check if the voter is registered in the town, region voter list and take actions to guarantee that the voter would not be able to vote twice or the ballot papers filled by him will be counted only once. If the voter has voted twice, only that vote shall be counted which was put in the ballot box of the polling district. The other vote of the voter, received by post or when cast according to the additional voter list of the polling district shall not be counted. Article
37. Complaints Concerning Voter Lists A voter or a representative of the party, political organisation may lodge complaints about the errors made in voter lists due to which the voter is not registered in the voter list in the manner prescribed by this Law or is registered in several voter lists with the electoral committee of the polling district no later than 7 days before the election. The electoral committee of the polling district must investigate the complaint and adopt a decision thereon either immediately or within 2 days of the receipt thereof, if more than 10 days are left until the election day. The decision of the electoral committee of a polling district may be within 3 days appealed against in the administrative court of an appropriate county, which shall investigate the complaint within 3 days. The decision of the court shall be final. Complaints and comments shall not be investigated after the expiration of the term established for filing comments or complaints. Electoral committees of polling districts shall report to the town, region electoral committee about the received complaints and changes made in the voter lists by the court’s decision, and the town, region electoral committee shall report to the Central Electoral Committee as soon as possible but no later than within 12 hours. Article
38. Repealed 19 September
39. Article
40. Repealed 19 September
41. Article
42. Repealed 19 September
43. Article
44. Repealed 19 September
45. Article
46. Repealed 19 September 1996 Article
47. Repealed 19 September
48. Article
49. Repealed 19 September
50. IV. Nomination of Candidates to the Office of President of the Republic Article
51. Nomination of Candidates to the Office of the President of the Republic Individual persons may nominate themselves to the office of President of the Republic. Political parties and political organisations may nominate and support candidates to the office of President of the Republic. The nomination of candidates to the office of the President of the Republic shall begin not more than 80 nor less than 65 days prior to the day of elections. When an early election of the President of the Republic according to Article 87 of the Constitution or an election of the President of the Republic according to paragraph 1 of Article 89 of the Constitution is held within two months from the announcement thereof, the nomination of candidates to the office of the President of the Republic shall commence on the next day after the entry into force of an appropriate Seimas or Government resolution concerning the announcement of an election, and shall end not later than 45 days before a polling day. If the said election is held earlier than within two months from the announcement thereof, such 45-day time limit shall be reduced by the number of days lacking to constitute a two-month time limit. Article
52. Statement about Individual’s Participation in the Elections as a Candidate to the Office of President of the Republic An individual who has been nominated or who has nominated himself to the office of President of the Republic must make a written statement about this to the Central Electoral Committee. If an individual is nominated by a political party or a political organisation to the office of President of the Republic, such decision shall also be presented in writing. An individual who has been nominated or who has nominated himself to the office of President of the Republic must arrive and submit to the Central Electoral Committee a document confirming the citizenship and a document attesting to the payment of a deposit amounting to five most recent average monthly wages of the national economy (hereinafter referred to as the AMW). After the elections the deposit shall be refunded to the individual who paid it, provided that a candidate to the office of President of the Republic has received more than 7 percent of the votes during the polling. An individual who has been nominated or who has nominated himself to the office of President of the Republic must: 1) inform the Central Electoral Committee in writing whether he is or has been and when a citizen of any other state (states); 2) submit to the Central Electoral Committee a document confirming the citizenship of any other state (states); 3) submit a document issued by the competent authorities of the Republic of Lithuania, other states, attesting to the renouncement of the citizenship or the loss thereof; 4) inform the Central Electoral Committee in writing whether he agrees that the Central Electoral Committee would receive from the competent authorities of the Republic of Lithuania and foreign countries the data about the citizenship of any other state (states) he has or has had, and the renouncement or loss thereof. If an individual does not agree that the Central Electoral Committee would receive the data specified in subparagraph 4 of paragraph 3 of this Article, the Central Electoral Committee shall not register individual’s nomination to the office of President of the Republic, and if it has registered his nomination to the office of President of the Republic or his candidacy for President of the Republic, shall repeal such registration. The Central Electoral Committee shall, not later than within 3 days (including non-working days) after the receipt of the statement, ascertain whether there any reasons specified in Article 78 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania preventing the individual’s nomination as a candidate to the office of President of the Republic are present, and shall adopt a grounded decision on whether or not to issue forms for the collection of voter signatures to the individual, with the name and surname of the candidate for the office of President of the Republic indicated thereon. Refusal to issue the forms for the collection of voter signatures may be appealed against to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania not later than within 3 days of the adoption of the decision, and the said Court must investigate the appeal not later than within 72 hours of its submission. This term shall include non-working days. The decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania shall become effective from its pronouncement. A candidate for President of the Republic shall have the right to withdraw in writing his application documents not later than 15 days left before the election. In this event, a decision of the Central Electoral Committee may be adopted only with the candidate for President of the Republic participating at a meeting of the Central Electoral Committee. The Central Electoral Committee may adopt a decision on the repeal of the registration of a candidate for President of the Republic not later than 13 days left before the election. Article
53. The Collection of Voter Signatures At least twenty thousand voter signatures as prescribed in Article 79 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania must be collected on the form for the collection of voter signatures, which shall contain the following text: I, as a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, confirm my support for the application of ............................................................................................................................................................(the person's name, surname) to participate in the ..... ............... .......... (day, month and year) elections as a candidate to the office of President of the Republic of Lithuania. Serial No. Individual’s Surname, Name Series and No. of the Document Confirming Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania Date of Birth Permanent Place of Residence Signature and Date The name and surname of the individual who has collected the signatures shall be indicated at the bottom of the page, as well as the series and number of the document confirming his citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, his permanent place of residence, and signature. All information on forms for the collection of signatures shall be filled out and signed by the voters themselves. If a citizen cannot fill out and sign the form because of his physical disabilities, another citizen shall do this upon his request. Such fact must be indicated by an appropriate inscription on the form for the collection of signatures and attested by the signature of the citizen who collects citizens’ signatures. The said person must verify the identity of the person who signs the form as well as the fact whether such person has filled out the correct data on the form. Voters may support each candidate to the office of President of the Republic only once. Forms for the collection of voter signatures shall be issued by the Central Electoral Committee directly to individuals who have announced in writing their participation as candidates in the elections of the President of the Republic and, upon the request of these persons - to persons indicated by them. Article
54. Registration of Candidates to the Office of the President of the Republic At least 45 days prior to the elections, individuals who have been nominated or who have nominated themselves as candidates to the office of the President of the Republic must submit voter signature collection forms containing at least twenty thousand voter signatures to the Central Electoral Committee which issued the said forms. Said individuals must also submit the extracts containing the basic data from the income tax return and the return of assets approved by the State Tax Inspectorate. Individuals who have been nominated or who have nominated themselves as candidates to the office of President of the Republic may submit a certificate of their health condition to the Central Electoral Committee. The Central Electoral Committee shall announce such certificates through mass media. The Central Electoral Committee shall check whether the forms for the collection of voter signatures have been completed correctly not later than within 10 days of the receipt thereof. In the event that it is discovered that a citizen has signed for the same candidate more than once, none of his signatures shall be counted. Moreover, the signatures and data obtained or filled out in violation of paragraph 3 of Article 33 of this Law shall not count. If, after all invalid votes are cast off, the candidate to the office of President of the Republic has the signatures of at least twenty thousand of voters, the Central Electoral Committee must register the individual as a candidate to the office of President of the Republic not later than within 24 hours. Refusal of the Central Electoral Committee to register an individual as a candidate to the office of President of the Republic may be appealed against to the Higher Administrative Tribunal of Lithuania not later than within 3 days (including non-working days), and the said Tribunal must investigate the appeal within 72 hours. This term shall include non-working days as well. The decision of the Higher Administrative Tribunal of Lithuania shall become effective from its pronouncement. Individuals who have been nominated or who have nominated themselves as candidates to the office of President of the Republic shall acquire the status of candidate to the office of President of the Republic upon their registration as candidates to the office of President of the Republic with the Central Electoral Committee, and the publication of a list of the individuals registered as candidates to the office of the President of the Republic in the information supplement of the Valstybės žinios (the Official Gazette). The Central Electoral Committee shall officially announce the list of all individuals who have been registered as candidates to the office of President of the Republic no later than 30 days prior to the day of the elections, and shall issue said individuals with certificates of candidacy to the office of President of the Republic within 24 hours of the announcement thereof. The campaign for elections of the President of the Republic shall commence on the day of the official announcement of the list of candidates to the office of President of the Republic. When early presidential elections in pursuance of Article 87 of the Constitution or presidential elections in pursuance to paragraph 1 of Article 89 are held within two months from the announcement thereof, individuals who have been nominated or who have nominated themselves as candidates to the office of President of the Republic must submit to the Central Electoral Committee the forms for the collection of signatures, specified in Article 33 of this Law, not later than 40 days left before the elections. When early presidential elections in pursuance of Article 87 of the Constitution or presidential elections in pursuance to paragraph 1 of Article 89 are held earlier than within two months from the announcement thereof, 30-day and 40-day time limits, specified in paragraphs 6 and 7 of this Article, shall be reduced by such the number of days lacking to constitute a two-month time limit. When early presidential elections in pursuance of Article 87 of the Constitution or presidential elections in pursuance to paragraph 1 of Article 89 are held earlier than within two months from the announcement thereof, they may not be held earlier than within 45 days from the announcement of the elections. Article
55. Agents of Candidates to the Office of President of the Republic Individuals who have been registered as candidates to the office of President of the Republic shall have the right to have their own agents. Candidates to the office of President of the Republic shall submit their list of agents to the Central Electoral Committee, which shall, not later than within 24 hours, issue agent certificates (indicating the name and surname of the candidate) to the agents of the candidates to the office of President of the Republic. On the instruction of the candidate to the office of President of the Republic, an agent of the candidate to the office of President of the Republic shall have the right to represent the candidate in meetings with voters and in the mass media, to raise funds for financing the elections, and to carry out other instructions of the candidate to the office of President of the Republic which do not contradict laws. Candidates to the office of President of the Republic may at any time recall their agents. Upon receiving such a request from a candidate to the office of the President of the Republic, the Central Electoral Committee shall adopt a decision concerning the recall of an agent and shall announce it publicly. Article
56. Observers of the Elections of the President of the Republic All political parties and political organisations which have nominated an individual as a candidate to the office of President of the Republic as well as candidates to the office of President of the Republic shall have the right to appoint in writing observers to each electoral committee. Observer of the Elections of President of the Republic certificates shall be issued immediately. The certificates shall be issued by: 1) the Central Electoral Committee - to observers who have been appointed to observe the activities of the Central Electoral Committee, as well as the activities of town, region electoral committees; and 2) town, region electoral committees - to observers who have been appointed to observe the activities of the electoral committees of polling districts. Election observers shall have the right to be present at the sittings of electoral committees whose activities they have been appointed to observe and to demand that the chairperson and members of the electoral committee observe this Law. Protests presented by observers in writing shall be attached to the records and decisions of the electoral committee. In cases provided for in this Law and according to the procedure established therein, observers shall have the right to appeal against the decisions of electoral committees. Organisations or candidates to the office of President of the Republic who have appointed observers shall have the right to recall the observer in writing at any time. The observer shall be deemed recalled from the moment the declaration of recall is submitted to the electoral committee which issued the observer's certificate to the individual. V. Guarantees of the Activities of Candidates to the Office of President of the Republic Article
57. The Right of Candidates to the Office of President of the Republic to Speak at Meetings or through Mass Media After the official publication of the list of candidates, the candidates to the office of President of the Republic shall have equal right to speak at voter meetings or at any other meetings, gatherings, or conferences, and to utilise state mass media and publicise their election programme. Heads of state institutions of power and government must assist the candidates to the office of President of the Republic to organise meetings with voters and to obtain necessary information, with the exception of confidential information. Article
58. The Right of Candidates to the Office of President of the Republic to be Relieved from Work or Service Duties During the Election Campaign Upon his or her request, a candidate to the office of President of the Republic may be relieved from work or service duties for the period of the election campaign but for no longer than 2 months. During this period, the candidate shall be paid two average monthly wages from State resources. Article
59. The Immunity of the Person of a Candidate to the Office of President of the Republic During the election campaign and directly following the elections, candidates to the office of President of the Republic may not be found criminally responsible or arrested, and may not be imposed with administrative penalties by court for their actions during the election campaign of the President of the Republic without the consent of the Central Electoral Committee. The Central Electoral Committee together with the Ministry of the Interior must arrange for the security of candidates to the office of President of the Republic, paid from the State funds. A candidate may refuse from such security, and he may also hire security at his own expense. Article
60. Amenability for the Violation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Presidential Elections Individuals who obstruct, by means of violence, fraud, threats, or any other way, the implementation the right of voters to elect the President of the Republic, and the organisation of campaigning, as well as the members of electoral committees and other officials who have falsified documents of the election, intentionally counted the votes incorrectly, or violated voting secrecy, or this Law in any other way shall be responsible according to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Legal actions shall be also brought against individuals who have announced or publicised in any other way false information concerning a candidate to the office of President of the Republic, or who have interfered with a candidate's meeting with voters. VI. CAMPAIGNING Article
61. The Basic Principles of Campaigning Political parties and political organisations, as well as citizens and candidates to the office of President of the Republic may begin campaigning from the day the campaign of the elections of the President of the Republic starts to which the provisions of this Chapter shall be applicable. Campaigning may be conducted in any form or manner provided that they do not contradict the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Lithuania. The commencement of campaigning shall be declared by the Central Electoral Committee. Article
62. Conditions and Procedure for the Use of Mass Media Candidates to the office of President of the Republic shall all have equal opportunity to participate free of charge in special broadcasts intended for election campaigning and produced by the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. Rules governing the making of such broadcasts shall be approved by, actual duration and time of broadcasts of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television shall be fixed by the Central Electoral Committee after consultation with the heads of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. Candidates to the office of President of the Republic may participate in special broadcasts intended for election campaigning and produced by the Lithuanian National Radio and Television themselves or may invite representatives or agents of the political parties and political organisations, as well as other individuals specified by them to take part in the said broadcasts. Only the special account of the Elections of the President of the Republic shall limit campaigning in the commercial mass media. The procedure for noting pay campaigning in the public mass media, indicating the source of funds or the fact that election campaigning is announced on television or radio free of charge, shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee on the advice of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television Commission, and in the press publications – on the advice of Inspector of Journalistic Ethics. All disputes concerning campaigning shall be settled by the Central Electoral Committee, which shall base itself on the principle of equality of candidates to the office of President of the Republic. Upon the demand of a candidate to the office of President of the Republic or the candidate's agent, mass media which has publicised compromising material about the said candidate to the office of President of the Republic must publicise the countering opinion of the candidate or his agent at least 5 days prior to the day of election. Article
63. Prohibition to Conduct Election Campaigning while Abusing one’s Official Position Anyone shall be prohibited from abusing his official position in state or local authority institutions, offices or organisations, as well as in the state or local authority mass media when carrying out election campaign, from instructing other persons to do so, or from trying to exert influence upon the will of voters in any other manner, while using his official position. State, municipal officers shall be prohibited from using their official position in creating for themselves or others exceptional election campaigning conditions. In the event the officer violates this Article, criminal or administrative action may be brought against him in a manner prescribed by law. If a person is a candidate for President of the Republic, he can use the state or local authority mass media only according to the procedure set forth in Article 42 of this Law. If the fulfilment of their duties requires to announce to the mass media important news, they can do it only at a press conference. The state or local authority mass media can publicise only a recording of such conference, which contains no election campaigning. Article
64. Financing Campaigning Campaigning shall be financed from State funds as well as from the funds raised by political parties and political organisations, citizens and candidates to the office of President of the Republic and which shall be accumulated in a special election account of each candidate to the office of the President of the Republic, which is opened in accordance with a certificate issued by the Central Election Committee. The maximum amount of election campaigning expenditures shall be calculated in the following manner: the number of voters on the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania shall be multiplied by LTL 1.5 and the received product shall be rounded up to the first two significant figures. Candidates to the office of the President of the Republic shall be paid from State funds on an equal basis for the time, specified in this Law, on the National Radio and Television of Lithuania, the printing of a candidate’s campaign poster, and the publishing of an election programme. The utilisation of State funds allocated for campaigning shall be controlled by the Central Electoral Committee and by the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance as well as state territorial tax inspectorates. The Central Electoral Committee must publicise reports on the utilisation of State funds for campaigning in the web site not later than within 15 days after the election of the President of the Republic. Candidates to the office of President of the Republic, as well as the elected President of the Republic, shall announce all funds which were received and utilised for the elections (indicating their sources) in the press not later than within 30 days after the election of the President of the Republic. Article
65. Prohibition of Campaigning on the Day of Election Campaigning shall be prohibited 30 hours preceding the commencement of elections and on the day of elections, with the exception of permanent visual campaign material in the places intended for this, provided that it was displayed at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of the elections. During this time, no visual campaigning material (with the exception of those which are issued by the Central Electoral Committee) may be displayed in a polling station or within 50 metres of the building in which a polling station is situated. VII. Preparatory Activities for the Organisation of Elections Article
66. Ballot-papers For elections of the President of the Republic, each voter shall be presented with a ballot-paper which shall contain the name and surname of each candidate to the office of President of the Republic. Candidates to the office of President of the Republic shall be listed in alphabetic order. Article
67. Delivery of Ballot-papers Town, region electoral committees shall recount the received ballot-papers and envelopes and shall draw up a report of the receipt thereof. Town, region electoral committees shall deliver ballot-papers to the electoral committees of polling districts at least 12 hours prior to the beginning of voting. The electoral committees of polling districts shall recount the ballot-papers and draw up a report of the receipt thereof. Town, region electoral committees shall deliver ballot-papers and envelopes to central post offices at least 2 days before the beginning of voting by mail. At diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania, voters must be provided with free access to ballot-papers and envelopes for voting by mail at least 15 days prior to the election day, on ships voters must be provided with free access to the text of ballot-papers not less than 15 days prior to elections. On ships ballot-papers shall be printed according to their description sent by a radiogram. The Central Electoral Committee shall be responsible for the issue, calculation and delivery of ballot-papers and envelopes within the indicated time period. Article
68. Repealed 9 October 1997 VIII. Voting Article
69. Time and Place of Voting Voting shall take place on the day of election from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the polling station designated by the electoral committee. Voters shall only vote in the polling district in whose voter list their names have been included. Votes received by mail shall be valid only in the polling district in whose voter list the name of the voter has been included. Article
70. Preparation of Polling Stations A polling station of the polling district must be completely prepared for elections not later than 12 hours before the beginning of voting. The electoral committee must also have counted all ballot papers received from the town, region electoral committee and drawn up their acceptance report. In the polling station of a polling district there must be a ballot box , secret voting booth (booths) in which a voter could fill ballot papers in secrecy. Election posters, issued by the Central Electoral Committee, must be displayed in the polling station. The text of this Law must be accessible in each polling district. The election campaign material, except for the material issued by the Central Electoral Committee, shall be removed from the polling station, passageways leading to or out of it (corridors) and within 50 metres of the building in which the polling station is situated. Working places for the electoral committee members, local election observers must be also arranged. Upon completion of preparing, the polling station shall be closed, sealed, left under the police protection, and the chairman of the electoral committee of the polling district shall inform the town, region electoral committee about this. Other requirements for preparation of polling stations shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee Article
71. Commencement of Voting On the day of election, the polling station shall be opened only if at least 3/5 of the members of the electoral committee of the polling district are present. Then, the chairperson of the electoral committee, together with other members of the electoral committee, shall make sure that the ballot-box is empty and shall seal it. Having checked that the polling station has been furnished without violating the established requirements, the chairperson of the electoral committee of the polling district shall register the total number of the received ballot-papers into the record of the calculation of votes, distribute the ballot-papers and voter lists among the members of the electoral committee, register the number of ballot-papers distributed among each electoral committee member into the record of the calculation of votes, and open the polling station, thereby proclaiming the commencement of the elections. Article
72. Voter Identification At the entrance to the polling station, a voter shall present his voter certificate, passport or other document proving his identity and citizenship to an electoral committee member of the polling district. Upon having established that the voter has arrived at the polling district in whose list of voters his name has been included, a committee member shall hand the voter an arrival card, stamped with the seal of the polling district, indicating which the voter was to come to the polling station to vote and shall show the committee member to be applied to for a ballot. It shall not be allowed to hand several arrival cards to one voter or to hand another voter’s arrival card to him. If upon arriving at the polling station, the person does not have the required documents or it is not clear whether he has been registered in the list of voters of this polling district, the committee member shall not hand the arrival card to this person, shall hand him a guest’s card and refer him to the committee chairman or deputy chairman to find out about voting. The committee member who is instructed to hand ballot papers, having established on the basis of the produced documents that the person who arrived to vote is indeed the citizen who has been registered in the list of voters, or if two citizens of the Republic of Lithuania registered in the list of voters of that polling district witness to this fact in writing to the electoral committee chairman, shall find the surname of the voter on the list of voters, and shall take the voter certificate and the arrival card from the person. After the voter and the committee member who hands ballot papers sign in the list of voters of the polling district, the voter shall be handed ballot papers. The voter certificate and arrival card shall not be returned to the voter. In voting by post, an entry shall be made on the voter certificate concerning the issue of a ballot paper, and the voter certificate shall be returned to the voter. It shall be prohibited to hand the voter the ballot paper of another person. The member of an electoral committee who violates this provision shall be liable under law. Article
73. Voting Procedure Having been handed the ballot-paper, the voter shall go into a voting booth and mark the ballot personally. The voter may only enter the voting booth alone. The only exceptions shall be in cases provided for in part 5 of this Article. On the ballot-paper, the voter shall mark the name of the candidate for whom he is voting. Voters shall personally cast their marked ballot-papers into the ballot-box. Upon the request of a voter, faulty ballot-papers shall be exchanged for new ones by the decision of the electoral committee of the polling district. The chairperson of the electoral committee shall cross out the faulty ballot paper in ink (ball-point pen) and shall sign it. The electoral committee secretary and one of the members shall also sign the faulty ballot-paper. Faulty ballot-papers shall be kept separately. Voters who are physically unable to mark their ballot-papers themselves or cast them into the ballot-box may designate another person to mark the ballot-paper and cast it into the ballot-box for them. Electoral Committee chairpersons or members, as well as election observers, shall be prohibited from carrying out such actions for voters. Article
74. Voting by Post Voting by post shall provide citizens who are not able to arrive at a polling district to vote due to the health or other reasons with a possibility to participate in elections . Voting by post shall be possible at town, region post offices during their business hours beginning with 5 days before the election and ending with 1 day prior to the election, provided the voter is put on the voter list of that town, region, and ending 2 days prior to the election, provided the voter is not put on the voter list of that town, region. Expenses related to voting by post shall be covered by the State. The head of the post office shall be responsible for the organisation of voting by post. He shall be responsible for keeping of records, issue and collection of ballot papers and voucher envelopes during voting by post. The head of the post office, with the consent of the town, region electoral committee, shall, for the issue and collection of ballot papers and voucher envelopes during voting by post, appoint postal workers (officers) who are entrusted with the issue of ballot papers and voucher envelopes. If the town, region electoral committee requests so, the head of the post office must remove a postal worker from the work with election documents. Postal workers who are authorised to issue election papers shall be issued by the town, region electoral committee the certificates of the established form. An electoral committee member, election observer, having produced his certificate to the postal worker, a voter, having produced the voter certificate and the document proving his identity, shall have the right to write his remark in this certificate, and the head of the post office shall immediately notify the town, region electoral committee about this remark. The postal worker who does not have this certificate shall not have the right to issue election papers. Post offices must provide a room (place) where the voter can, without interference and in secrecy, mark the ballot papers and put them into a voucher envelope. Voting procedure may be watched by the observers who have the certificates allowing to observe election in any polling district. The postal worker shall issue election documents in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee. Together with ballot papers, voters shall be given envelopes for voting by post. An outer envelope for voting by post shall be addressed by the postal worker to the electoral committee of the polling district which is indicated in the voter certificate of the person. Voting in secrecy, the voter shall: 1) mark the ballot papers; 2) put the marked ballot papers into the voucher envelope; 3) seal the voucher envelope; 4) put the voucher envelope into the outer envelope together with the voter certificate; 5) seal the outer envelope. The outer envelopes, voucher envelopes, and ballot papers shall, at least 2 days prior to the election, be delivered by a postman to the homes of voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at a polling district on the polling day due to health reasons. The concrete schedule of arrival of a postman to voters must be approved by the head of the post office (post office branch) not later than by noon, a copy of the schedule shall be announced in a notice-board and the schedule shall start being implemented on the next day following its approval. Together with a postman not less than 2 committee members, as well as observers may arrive at the voter’s home. The list of such voters shall be compiled at least 10 days before the elections by the electoral committees of a polling district in accordance with applications in the form set by the Central Electoral Committee, filled in by citizens requesting to ensure a possibility to vote at home. With consent of the chairman of a constituency electoral committee or a member of a constituency electoral committee authorised by him, polling district electoral committees may supplement the list provided that they received applications of such voters not later than 3 days prior to elections. Applications of citizens must be also approved by the heads of town, region welfare institutions or town, region health care and medical treatment institutions or by the officers who are authorised by them for that purpose. Applications shall be added to the list compiled by the district electoral committee of the voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at a polling district on the polling day due to health reasons. Postal workers, members of electoral committees or other individuals may not bring outer envelopes, voucher envelopes and ballot papers to the homes of voters who are not registered in the list of the voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at a polling district on the polling day due to health reasons. The following may be registered in the list of the voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at a polling district on the polling day: I group invalids, persons with a locomotor disability (II groups) and the persons with temporary incapacity for work, if they have submitted applications provided for in this paragraph to ensure a possibility to vote at home. Officers who have provided electoral committees with inaccurate data about voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at a polling district on the polling day, shall be held liable under law. The sealed outer envelope (with the voter certificate, voucher envelope and ballot papers in it) the voter may: 1) hand to a postal worker; 2) hand to the postman who has delivered the election documents to him; or 3) put into a post-box. 4) hand the enclosed in envelopes election ballot, to the captain of a port bound ship and entrust him with the posting of the ballot. When a voter casts a vote at home, it shall be prohibited to exert any influence on his decision and to hasten him to vote. The voter who has no physical defects preventing him from marking a ballot paper, shall personally put the secretly marked ballot paper into the voucher envelope, seal it, place the sealed voucher envelope into the outer envelope together with the voter certificate and seal it.. On the request of the voter who, due to his physical defects, is not able to do that himself, this shall be performed by the person (except a postman, electoral committee member or observer) chosen by the voter whom he trusts and who must maintain confidentiality of the voting. The voter may deliver the sealed outer envelope to a postman or post it on the same or another day. Article
75. Voting in Diplomatic Missions Voting in diplomatic missions (consulates) of the Republic of Lithuania may take place during its business hours, but for at least 4 hours a day. If the voter requests so, the diplomatic mission (consulate) may send and accept election documents from him by post. On the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Electoral Committee shall compile the list of diplomatic missions (consulates) in which voting shall be conducted and shall establish voting days (no less than 10) for each diplomatic mission (consulate). The head of the diplomatic mission (consulate) shall be responsible for the organisation of voting. Article
76. Voting on a Ship Voting shall take place aboard a ship if the ship leaves a port of the Republic of Lithuania at least 5 days prior to an election and does not return until the day of the election, or if other circumstances are such that a crew member or a board passenger who has the right to elect is unable to vote in his polling district, by post or in a diplomatic mission. The list of ships, on which there are no less than 10 crew members - voters, with which the radio communication shall be maintained during the voting and on which voting shall take place, as well as the time of voting on each ship shall be compiled by the Central Electoral Committee. The Central Electoral Committee shall also set a time for voting on each ship so that each voter who is aboard a ship would be given the opportunity to vote. The captain of the ship, who is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, shall be responsible for the organisation of voting on a ship. Voting shall not be organised on ships in which there are no conditions for organising the voting in accordance with the requirements of this Law. Article
77. The Procedure for Voting in Diplomatic Missions and on Ships of the Republic of Lithuania Electoral committees shall be formed in diplomatic missions (consulates) and ships of the Republic of Lithuania for organising the voting and calculating the votes cast. Electoral committees shall be composed of a chairman and at least two members. The head of a diplomatic mission or consulate of the Republic of Lithuania shall form electoral committees from the staff members of the diplomatic mission or consulate or from other citizens of the Republic of Lithuania residing in the foreign state. The procedure for giving written pledges of electoral committee members shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. Electoral committees on ships shall be formed by the captain of a ship, taking into consideration the decision of the meeting of the ship’s crew - citizens of the Republic of Lithuania . The procedure for voting, vote calculation, submitting of vote calculation records to the Central Electoral Committee, as well as the procedure for issuing certificates to observers shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. Article
78. Voting in Medical Treatment Facilities and Social Welfare Institutions Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in medical treatment facilities and social welfare institutions. At least 20 days before the election the town, region electoral committee shall: on the recommendation of heads of medical treatment facilities, social welfare institutions, compile the list of special post offices; on the recommendation of the head of the post office, establish the working hours of these post offices. The head of the institution or facilities shall allot the place appropriate for voting and shall be responsible that the voters are notified about the working place and time of a special post office, and that the conditions should be created for voters to reach it. Patients of such facilities and institutions who are able to move shall vote themselves in the polling station in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 54 of this Law. Inmates of medical treatment facilities and social welfare institutions who are unable to arrive at the polling station due to health reasons shall be visited by at least two electoral committee members, observers (should they participate) and officers of special post offices. A voting person must, in conditions of secrecy, personally mark the ballot paper and put it into the voucher envelope. If necessary, he may be assisted by an individual (except an employee of that institution, a postman, a member of the electoral committee, or an election observer) whom he trusts. According to the instruction of the head of the medical treatment facilities or the social welfare institution, it may be prohibited to disturb patients who are in bad condition for the purpose of voting. Such instruction shall be obligatory to postmen. It shall also be prohibited to disturb an individual for the purpose of voting, if the commission of doctors has concluded pursuant to the established procedure of the Ministry of Health Care that he is incapable of understanding the essence of his actions at the time of voting because of chronic mental disease, feeble-mindedness, or temporary mental disorder. Article
79. Voting in Military Units Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in military units of the national defence system and internal service, as established in Article
80. If possible, chief officers of military units shall provide conditions for servicemen to vote in the polling districts of their permanent place of residence. Article
81. Voting in Places of Confinement Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in places of confinement, as established in Article
82. In accordance with the procedure set forth in the laws, heads of places of confinement may allow sentenced persons to vote in the constituencies of their permanent place of residence. Article
83. Repealed 19 September
84. Article
85. Repealed 19 September
86. Article
87. Repealed 19 September
88. Article
89. Repealed 19 September
90. Article
91. Repealed 19 September
92. Article
93. Repealed 19 September
94. ix. calculation of Votes and Establishment of Voting Results Article
95. Calculation of Voucher Envelopes and Ballot-Papers in Post Offices The records of voucher envelopes and ballot papers shall be kept by the head of the post office, indicating the data of said records in a journal specially designated for this purpose in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee The post office head shall deliver unused envelopes and ballot papers to the town, region electoral committee one day prior to elections. The post office shall deliver envelopes containing ballot papers marked by voters to electoral committees of polling districts on the day of the election, but not later than 2 hours before closing the election. The Central Electoral Committee shall keep records of voucher envelopes and ballot papers in the Republic of Lithuania. Article
96. Calculation of Ballot-Papers in Polling Districts Upon the closing of a polling station the chairperson of the electoral committee of the polling district, in the presence of at least 3/5 of the members of the electoral committee, shall close and seal the ballot-box slot, collect unused ballot-papers from each member of the electoral committee of the polling district, record the number of unused ballot-papers in the vote calculation record, count them publicly, and check, according to signatures in the voter list, that no ballot-papers have been handed in unlawfully. Unused and faulty ballot-papers shall be counted publicly by the electoral committee, annulled by cutting off the upper right corner, and put into envelopes specially designated for this purpose which shall thereafter be sealed. The number of unused and faulty ballot-papers shall be entered in the vote calculation record. Article
97. Calculation of Votes in Polling Districts and Registration of Voters who Have Voted The electoral committee of the polling district, in the presence of at least 3/5 of its members, shall inspect the ballot- box of the polling district to: ensure that the seals have not been broken and that there is no other evidence which indicates that it could have been opened or that ballot-papers could have been removed in any other way. The committee, in the presence of at least 3/5 of its members, shall decide if the ballot box has been tampered with. If the committee decides that the ballot-box was tampered with, an act shall be drawn up about this and votes shall not be calculated. Upon the ascertainment that the ballot-box has not been tampered with, the box shall be opened and the votes shall be calculated. Votes shall be calculated in such a way that this procedure and ballot-papers marked by voters can be observed by all persons present during the calculation of votes. The Central Electoral Committee shall establish the concrete procedure for the calculation of votes. Upon ascertainment that the ballot-box was not tampered with and in the presence of at least 3/5 of the members of the committee as well as observers, the box shall be opened, all ballot-papers shall be placed on tables on which there are no other documents and writing-materials, and the votes shall be counted. The number of the voters of the polling district shall be established according to the voter list of the polling district. The number of voters who have been handed ballot-papers shall be established according to the voter lists testifying the receipt of the ballot-paper. The number of voters who have voted in the polling district shall be established according to the number of ballot-papers found in the ballot-box of the polling district. The number of voters who have participated in the elections shall be established according to the number of ballot-papers found in ballot-boxes of the polling districts and the number of ballot-papers received by mail. Upon finding more ballot-papers in the ballot-box than were handed to the voters, the committee shall take measures to clarify the reason. The results of the vote calculation shall be entered in the vote calculation records. Article
98. Registration of Voters who Have Voted by Mail and the Calculation of their Votes After the calculation of ballot-papers found in the ballot-box, ballot-papers received by mail shall be calculated in the following procedure: 1) the chairperson of the electoral committee of the polling district shall present, unopened, all outer envelopes received by mail. Their number shall be entered in the vote calculation record; 2) outer envelopes shall be opened one at a time; 3) voter certificates shall be taken out of the outer envelopes and checked against the voter list of the polling district, and the voucher envelopes shall be stamped with the seal of the polling district. If the person on the voter certificate is not on the voter list, if the voter has already signed the voter list indicating that he or she has already voted in the polling district, if another envelope for voting by mail has been received from the same voter, if there is no voter certificate in the outer envelope, or if there is more than one voucher envelope in the outer envelope, the seal shall not be affixed and the ballot-paper in the envelope shall be considered invalid. This fact must be noted on the voucher envelope; 4) in the voter list of the polling district, a special record of the receipt of the elector's vote shall be made by the surname of the voter whose vote has been received by mail; 5) the sealed voucher envelope shall be cast into the ballot-box prepared according to the established requirements; and 6) when all envelopes received by mail have been gone over in this way, and upon opening the unsealed voucher envelopes, the votes received by mail shall be calculated according to the requirements of Article
99. If there is more than one ballot-paper in the voucher envelope, all ballot-papers in the envelope shall be considered invalid. If only one sealed voucher envelope is in the polling district (committee), it, in order to protect the privacy of voting, shall not be opened, but shall be handed over to the senior electoral committee, which shall enter the results of the voting in its vote calculation record. Article
100. Vote Calculation Records in Polling Districts A vote calculation record shall be drawn up in every polling district. It shall include: 1) the number of voters in the polling district; 2) the number of ballot-papers received from the town, region electoral committee; 3) the number of ballot-papers delivered to each member of the committee, the number of ballot-papers delivered to voters, the number of voters' signatures, the number of voter certificates, and the number of unused ballot-papers; 4) the number of unused ballot-papers; 5) the number of voters who have voted in the polling station of the polling district; 6) the time that the ballot-box is opened; 7) the number of invalid ballot-papers found in the ballot box; 8) the number of valid ballot-papers found in the ballot box; 9) the number of votes found in the ballot-box which have been separately cast for each candidate to the office of President of the Republic; 10) the number of envelopes received by mail and the number of sealed voucher envelopes; 11) the number of invalid ballot-papers received by mail; 12) the number of valid ballot-papers received by mail; 13) the number of votes received by mail for each candidate to the office of President of the Republic; 14) the total number of voters who participated in the elections in the polling district; 15) the total number of invalid votes in the polling district; and 16) the total number of votes cast for each candidate to the office of President of the Republic. If more ballot-papers are found in the ballot-box than it has been delivered to voters, this shall be entered in the vote calculation record, indicating the number of extra ballot-papers which were found. The vote calculation record of the polling district shall be signed by the chairperson and members of the electoral committee of the polling district. After that the observers shall sign the record. Their observations and the opinions of the members of the committee shall be attached to the record and shall be an inseparable part thereof. Article
101. Invalid Ballot-papers Invalid ballot-papers shall be: 1) ballot-papers which are not of the established sample; 2) ballot-papers which are sealed with the seal of the wrong polling district; 3) ballot-papers on which more than one candidate to the office of President of the Republic are marked by the voter; and 4) ballot-papers on which the voter has not marked any of the candidates to the office of President of the Republic. The decision to declare a ballot invalid shall be made by the electoral committee of the polling district. Article
102. Presentation of Polling District Vote Calculation Documents to Town, region Electoral Committees The electoral committee of a polling district shall put all ballot-papers, including invalid and unused ballot-papers, all voucher envelopes, vote calculation records, voter lists and other election documents into a package and shall seal it in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee. The package shall be delivered to the town, region electoral committee within 12 hours of the closing of voting. The Central Electoral Committee and the Ministry of the Interior must ensure the safety of the transportation of election documents as well as of the persons transporting them. Article
103. The Calculation of Votes in Town, Region Electoral Committees Town, region electoral committees shall begin calculating votes upon receiving all vote calculation records and other election documents from all polling districts. The town, region electoral committee shall accept the documents delivered by the electoral committee of the polling district and shall check: 1) whether all required documents (packages) have been delivered; 2) sealing and descriptions of the packages (whether the description is full and correct); 3) whether all data have been entered in the vote calculation record; if they do not contradict one another; if they correspond to the data available to the town, region electoral committee (the number of ballot papers issued to the electoral committee of the polling district, the number of voters, the number of outer envelopes received by post); if there are all necessary signatures; whether all separate opinions of the committee members, remarks of observers are attached to the record in which they are specified; and 4) whether all remarks and complaints of voters have been considered in the electoral committee of the polling district. The town, region electoral committee shall immediately report the data of the vote calculation record, its comments concerning the documents submitted by the electoral committee of the polling district to the Central Electoral Committee, in the manner prescribed by it, and shall ensure the safety of submitted documents. The packages sealed by the electoral committees of the polling districts, which contain ballot papers, may be opened in the town, region electoral committee only by the decision of the town, region electoral committee. Upon establishing the shortage of documents submitted by the electoral committee of the polling district, the town, region electoral committee shall take measures to eliminate the shortage, request the chairman of the electoral committee of the polling district to supply the missing documents. The town, region electoral committee shall calculate the votes in the following manner: sums up the documents submitted by the electoral committees of the polling districts and adds to them those votes cast by the voters by post, which have been counted in the town, region electoral committee. Article
104. Town, Region Vote Calculation Records According to the polling district vote calculation records, ballot-papers, and other election documents, the town, region electoral committees shall establish: 1) the number of voters who have participated in the town, region elections, which shall equal the number of voters who have voted in the town, region polling districts; 2) the number of invalid ballot-papers in the town or region which shall equal the number of invalid ballot-papers in the town, region polling district; 3) the number of ballot-papers valid in the town or region, which shall equal the number of ballot-papers valid in the town, region polling district; and 4) the number of votes cast for each candidate to the office of President of the Republic. This number shall equal the sum of votes received in the polling districts separately for each candidate to the office of President of the Republic. These data shall be entered in town, region vote calculation records, which shall then be signed by the chairperson and members of the respective town, region polling district. Article
105. Presentation of Town, Region Vote Calculation Records to the Central Electoral Committee and Establishment of Election Results The Central Electoral Committee may begin to establish the election results after the vote calculation records of the electoral committees of all towns and regions, as well as other documents have been received. The town, region electoral committee shall put all documents (except financial documentation) received from the polling districts, voter lists, the vote calculation records of the town, region electoral committee, records pertaining to the whole period of activities of the town, region electoral committee and other election documents into special packages, shall seal them. The packages shall, within the time limit established by the Central Electoral Committee, be delivered to the Central Electoral Committee. According to the vote calculation records of the town, region electoral committees and the vote calculation records in diplomatic missions, the Central Electoral Committee shall establish: 1) the number of voters of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) the number of voters who participated in the elections; 3) the number of invalid ballot-papers; 4) the number of valid ballot-papers; and 5) the number of votes cast for each candidate to the office of President of the Republic. While investigating the complaints filed in the procedure established by this Law, the Central Electoral Committee may recount ballot-papers and, upon the establishment of errors in their calculation, may correct entries in vote calculation records. The Central Electoral Committee may not consider invalid vote calculation records of electoral committees of polling districts, town, region electoral committees due to errors found in vote calculation records. Upon the establishment that gross violations of this Law were committed during voting or that the document forgery had a decisive influence on the results of the election of the President of the Republic, the Central Electoral Committee may consider the results of the elections to the office of the President of the Republic invalid. A candidate to the office of President of the Republic shall be considered elected if during voting for the first time in which at least half of all voters participate, he receives more than half of the votes of all voters participating in the elections. If less than half of all voters participated in the elections, a candidate shall be considered elected when he receives the most, but no less than one-third of votes of all voters. If during the first voting round none of the candidates get the required majority vote, a repeat vote shall be held within 2 weeks of the election day in the procedure established by this Law between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first voting round. The Central Electoral Committee shall proclaim this voting on the same day as the final results of the first round of voting. The candidate who gets more votes shall be considered elected. If no more than two candidates participate in the first voting round and neither of them get the required number of votes, repeat elections for the office of President of the Republic shall be held within 45 days of the day of the elections in the procedure established by this Law. Article
106. Participation of Observers in the Calculation of Votes and the Establishment of Election Results Observers of political parties and political organisations which have nominated candidates to the office of President of the Republic, observers appointed by candidates to the office of President of the Republic, and representatives of all mass media may participate in the calculation of votes in polling districts and town, region electoral committees, as well as in the establishment of election results in the Central Electoral Committee. Observers shall have the right to make remarks and claims to electoral committees concerning violations of this and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, but they must not hinder the work of electoral committees. Observers shall have the right to make written protests which must be added to the electoral committee records and decisions and, together with other election documents, must be delivered to the senior electoral committee. Article
107. Publication of Election Results The final results of elections of the President of the Republic shall be publicised by the Central Electoral Committee within 5 days of the elections. The results of repeat elections of the President of the Republic shall be publicised by the Central Electoral Committee within 5 days of the day of the repeat vote. Article
108. Inquiry Concerning the Violation of the Law on Presidential Elections Not later than within 3 days of the official proclamation of the election results, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania may appeal to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania with the inquiry whether or not the Law on Elections has been violated during the elections of the President of the Republic. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania shall investigate and evaluate the decision only of the Central Electoral Committee or its refusal to investigate complaints concerning the violations of the Law on Elections in the cases when decisions have been adopted or other actions of said Committee have been performed after the closing of voting while holding elections of the President of the Republic. This inquiry shall be investigated by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania not later than within 72 hours of its submission to the Constitutional Court. Non-working days shall be included in this period. Following the findings of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall adopt the final decision concerning the violation of the Law on Presidential Elections. If the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania makes a conclusion that the Central Electoral Committee has severely violated the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Presidential Elections or has falsified election documents, and this has had an essential influence on the establishment of the election results, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania may pass one of the following resolutions: 1) to declare the election results invalid - when, from the vote calculation records, it is impossible to establish real election results; or 2) to establish real final election results according to the vote calculation records confirmed by electoral committees, provided that the decisions of the committees concerning confirmation of these records have not been appealed against in the Higher Administrative Tribunal of Lithuania, and the Higher Administrative Tribunal of Lithuania has not reversed the decisions of the committees concerning confirmation or non-confirmation of these records. Upon declaring the results of the elections of the President of the Republic invalid, repeat elections of the President of the Republic shall, not later than within 3 months of the election day, be held in the manner prescribed by this Law. Article
109. Repealed 19 September
110. Article
111. Preservation of Documents of Elections of the President of the Republic The Central Electoral Committee shall, not later than within 3 months of the proclamation of the final results of the elections, prepare and publish a book about the results of the elections, and shall within 4 months transfer vote calculation records of polling districts and constituencies, nomination documents (except the forms for the collection of voters' signatures), minutes of the sittings as well as the decisions of the Central Electoral Committee and a set of sample election documents to the State Archives for permanent preservation. After that the Central Electoral Committee may, in a prescribed manner, decide to destroy the election documents which are not subject to preservation. Acting President of the Republic ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS Vilnius 22 December 1992 No. I-28 [1] *For members, chairmen of town, region, district electoral committees, who have not given a written pledge prior to the coming into effect of the Law on Amending Articles 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 43, 47, 48, 50, 52, 54, 61, 68, 70 and Supplementing Articles 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 2310, 2311, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Presidential Elections (9 October 1997, No.VII-439), the period of 15 days shall be counted not from their appointment, but from the day of coming into effect of said Law.